TOKYO, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Junko Ishida, mother of a Japanese hostage held by the Islamic State (IS) militants, called Friday morning for the release of her son, Kenji Goto, only hours before the 72-hour deadline given by the IS.
The desperate mother said at a press conference that Goto is not an enemy of the IS and Japan is not also a foe of Islamic countries but a country maintains friendship with those countries.
She said Goto currently is a father of a two-week-old baby but he has no chance to know it and his motive to be in Middle East is to help rescue his acquaintance Haruna Yukawa, another Japanese hostage held by the IS militants.
Ishido asked the Japanese government to make efforts to save her son, saying Goto's reports over the conflict areas are all based on a neutral perspective.
The IS militants uploaded a video clip Tuesday and demanded that Japan pay a ransom of 200 million U.S. dollars for the lives of the two hostages, the same amount pledged by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday to help the region counter the threats posted by the IS.
The Japanese government is working with international community to try to save the two Japanese nationals.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday that safety of the Goto and Yukawa has not yet confirmed and stressed that Japan will never give in to terrorism.
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